1 Peter 3:15
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a

reason of
the hope that is in you with meekness and
fear...

From time to time, when engaged in
Biblical evangelism, we are asked to defend our methods. Surprisingly,
our worst antagonist are professing Christians who, by false teaching, have
been conditioned to oppose the true gospel presentation. These
hypocrites rarely present any Bible for their opinions but usually feel it is
their duty to defend the sinners from the thundering of God's holy law.
Alas, those who live in sin are the most hostile to its public
condemnation. The following
represents typical complaints and questions that are posed to us on a regular
basis, some by sinners, others by religious hypocrites. Believe it
or not, these are actual questions.

COMPLAINT #1:
"AS A BELIEVER I AM OFFENDED BY THE WAY YOU EVANGELIZE."

Unfortunately,
we have
a obvious problem from the very outset. Such words cast a shadow on your
state of heart as you readily admit you are
"offended" with our method of evangelism. The Bible
clearly states that we are not to be offended (this is especially true for
those who profess Christianity).

Psalm 119:165
Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.

Furthermore, should we
establish reasonable proof that our "way" is, in fact, Biblical, then
you are in essence confessing that you are offended with the person
of Jesus, as Christ and His Word are synonymous and inseparable (John
1:1). This is a very serious spiritual matter and should be grounds for
sober self-examination.

Matthew
11:6And
blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

The Bible teaches that
preaching is God's ordained method for bringing sinners to
repentance.

Romans 10:14
How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

1 Cor. 1:21
...it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

In these verses the two Greek
words translated into the English words "preaching" and "preacher"
literally
mean, [1] To herald as a public crier, and [2] a proclamation. The
Scriptures also teach that the preaching of the cross, which is God's ordained way of
evangelism, is offensive to the religious mindset (those who profess
godliness but are not truly in a relationship with God by virtue of their
continuing in sin). Note the
following Scripture:

Remember, the cross not only represents God's love
and mercy toward mankind, it also communicates His unwavering wrath and
judgment against sin. If we accurately preach Christ and His cross we
must therefore boldly and passionately denounce sin. We cannot love
God and yet fail to utterly hate sin (Ps. 97:10). Men only
defend what they love. Why is the public denouncing of sin and
sinners so troubling to you? Could it be that you are offended with
Christ who hates sin (Hebrews 1:9)? Could it be that you are ashamed
of God's Word (Mark 8:38)? Please consider the following Scriptural
warnings...

Proverbs 18:5
It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the
righteous in judgment.

Proverbs
28:4-5 They that
forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with
them. 5Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the Lord
understand all things.

COMPLAINT #2:
"I AM OFFENDED WITH WAY THE MINISTERS FROM YOUR CHURCH CONDEMN
EVERYONE AND CALL PASSERS-BY NAMES."

Is this a fair accusation? Have you personally
heard us condemn everyone? Do we indeed condemn everyone?
My answer is a simple: no, we certainly don't condemn everyone we come in contact
with. Why? Because we meet genuine Christians who
are obviously not condemned, i.e. damned.
However, we do boldly preach the gospel. And the gospel emphatically
communicates that ALL MEN ARE HOPELESSLY DAMNED
unless they meet the conditions of: [1] repentance and, [2] faith in the finished work
of Christ for salvation from all sin. If we fail to communicate that ALL MEN
are damned apart from Christ then we've fallen short of our Christian duty
(Ezk.3:17-18). The Bible, God's Word, teaches that ALL MEN
are wicked, sinful, evil, and hopelessly lost without Jesus. This is the truth. God wants HIS WORD
proclaimed, not the soft-peddled, men-pleasing, feel-good, self-exalting,
physco-babble that is passed off as gospel preaching in this hour. It is
the truth that makes men free (John 8:32). As Christians, we are
unashamed of Jesus and we are unashamed of Christ's Word (Mark 8:38)
regardless of how unpopular it may seem. Are you suggesting that we declare
something other than the truth simply because it is unpopular and seemingly
ineffective (which of course, it is not)?

John 3:18He that
believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned
already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of
God.

Acts
10:42-43 And he
commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which
was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead. 43To
him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever
believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.

You also charged us with calling people names.
Apparently you are unfamiliar with Scripture verses such as...

Proverbs
27:5-6Open rebuke is better than secret love. 6Faithful
are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

Proverbs
28:23 He that
rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth
with the tongue.

Ephes. 5:11
And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather
reprove them.

Look in the pages of the gospels
and you will find that Jesus called individuals names and condemned
people. He called the King a "fox." He called two of
His disciples "devils." He referred to a Gentile woman as
a "dog." He exposed the unbelieving Jews as "children
of the devil." He called the religious leaders of the day
"vipers, snakes, hypocrites, blind guides, fools, and whited
sepulchers." Not only does Jesus rebuke and condemn individuals and
groups but he declares his generation to be "faithless, perverse, and
adulterous." He pronounced judgment on entire cities,
"Woe unto you Chorazin, Bethsaida, Capernaum..." Finally,
he exposes the spiritual hopelessness of the entire world: "Woe
unto the world because of offenses..."1 The Apostle Peter called
men "wicked" and charged them with murdering Christ in his great
Pentecostal message. The Apostle Paul called men "whited
walls" (Acts 23:3) and "children of the devil" (Acts
13:10). And finally, the Bible itself uses every descriptive tool of
language in depicting men as sinful and evil. Remember, the Bible is
God's mind revealed to man. The thoughts expressed therein are
what GOD WANTS MEN TO KNOW! If God
sought to inspire such terms to describe sin why shouldn't we?

It is true, we preach a "if
the shoe fits wear it" message. This means we take Scripture
verses like...

Then we systematically address every sin
listed. This, in effect, is to preach the law of God. Contrary
to the apostate and antinomian false gospel of today, the law must be
preached if sinners are to see their need for a Savior (see Rom. 3:20; Gal.
3:24; 1 Tim. 1:8-10). We might, for example, declare, "All
fornicators are hell-bound" or "Every drunkard
will one day be cast into the lack of fire." Many, many times we
are faced with men who brazenly boast in their sin. When this happens,
we give them the Bible. We tell them what God says about the sinner.
For example, if a man boast in his lying we tell him that God
says, "all liars shall have their part in the lake which
burneth with fire and brimstone (Rev. 21:8)." We
give them the Word of God because this is what we're commanded to give
them...

1 Peter
4:11If
any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God...

Again, I ask you, isn't
this the truth? Why does the truth seem to bother people so?
It seems odd to me that a professing Christian would be so troubled by
sinners being reproved for their sins.

COMPLAINT #3 "I AM NOT
TRYING TO DISCREDIT YOU OR YOUR MINISTRY BY MAKING UP STORIES. WHILE
LISTENING TO YOUR PREACHERS, I HAVE SEEN THIS HAPPEN MANY TIMES; IT IS NOT AN
ISOLATED EVENT."

When? Who? What was said? I am not
band-standing. Give me specifics, tell me what was said and by
whom. Accusations are cheap. Case in point: I have preached
on LSU's campus since the late 1980's. Time and time again people have sworn that
I pointed out their girlfriend/sister/mother/professor in the crowd
and called them a "whore." Now, I am not ashamed of the term
"whore" as it is a Biblical term and there are certainly thousands
of whores and whoremongers who attend LSU, nor would I be hesitant
to use the term if the circumstances were appropriate. However, I
cannot remember ever pointing anyone out at Free-Speech Alley and labeling
them a whore before I spoke with them, not once. Yet, the accusation arises nearly every time I
go to campus.

COMPLAINT #4
"YOU ARE WRONG BECAUSE YOU ARE JUDGING. DOESN'T THE BIBLE SAY,
"THOU SHALT NOT JUDGE"?

It is a common
misconception that the Bible contains a command, "Thou shalt not
judge." However, there is no such command in Scripture. In
fact, many will be surprised to learn that the Bible actually commands us to
judge. Nevertheless, many quote Jesus' words in Matthew's gospel as
proof that we are never, under any circumstances, to point out sin and its
consequences in another's life. Matthew 7:1 is perhaps
the most misunderstood and most often quoted Scripture verse in the Bible.

Matthew
7:1Judge
not, that ye be not judged.

This isolated verse has
been misintrepeted to mean that we are never to make absolute moral decesions.
This foolishness is not only
unbiblical, nonsensical, and unrealistic, it is also absurd. We all
judge. We must judge. Hence, people who promote this perversion of
Scripture reveal that they harbor an ulterior motive.

The unwritten commands of much of the twentieth century Pentecostal/Evangelical
church-world are these.

*Be
extremely nice at all times: To be pleasant is defined as
love - To be described as
something other than nice would constitute a walking outside of love as it
is currently defined.

*Judge
not: You may approve of anything and everything that professes Jesus
Christ - but you must never speak negatively about anything - God alone is
judge. It takes as much
eternal...

*Never,
under any circumstances offend anyone: Offending someone might be
equated with having a demonic spirit.

There is this underlining pressure to fulfill these unwritten commands.I may be oversimplifying things but this is so prevalent in the church world
today. People truly believe that if they are NICE they will go to
heaven.We should be tender hearted and kind people but we will not always maintain,
if ever, such a reputation if we follow Jesus. Jesus was not murdered because He was considered NICE!

THE NATURE OF LIGHT: IT
REVEALS & EXPOSES! The Devil wants to extinguish
all light. Satan wants to cloud the
difference between right and wrong!
It isn't the will of God to
cloak the light.

Ephes. 5:13
But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for
whatsoever doth make manifest is light.

John 9:5As long as I am in the world, I am the light of
the world.

Matthew 5:14Ye are the light of the world. A city that is
set on an hill cannot be hid.

I will illustrate my
point with an analogy: Suppose you were employed by a large
manufacturing company that was owned by a sole proprietor. Not only was
the owner of the company brilliant and shrewd but he also had a no-nonsense
reputation in his business affairs. He was strict but universally fair,
and for this he was highly respected among his employees.
Such employment was difficult to find and you were thankful for your
job. You were well paid, had wonderful benefits which enhanced your
salary, and most importantly, you were employed by a man whose word you could
trust. Now, early one morning, upon entering into your work area, you
notice a company announcement, printed on official company letterhead, and
posted on the company bulletin board announcing a new policy that would go
into effect immediately. The policy read: "ALL EMPLOYEES WHO
FAIL TO HAVE THEIR HEADS SHAVED BY NEXT MONDAY WILL BE TERMINATED
IMMEDIATELY!" The new policy carried with it a signature from none
other than the owner of the company, leaving no doubt of its
authenticity. Now, such a policy seemed somewhat unusual and
harsh. Nevertheless, the owner had authored and signed the policy.
It was his company and no one could challenge his he could certainly run it
the way he saw fit you reasoned. So, as your fellow employees
began to arrive for their work day you felt obligated to warn your fellow
employees regarding the news.

"Gentlemen,
according to company policy, you will be fired if you refuse to amend your
ways."

It takes as much eternal
wisdom to discern something or someone is right with God as it does to
judge that something or someone is not right with God.

COMPLAINT #5 "TRUE CHRISTIANS
PROMOTE LOVE, BUT ALL I SENSE FROM YOUR MINISTRY IS HATE."

COMPLAINT #6 "DOESN'T GOD
UNCONDITIONALLY LOVE EVERYONE?"

No. This is a another great
misconception held by the vast majority of professing Christendom.
However, this is an unbliblical thought.
There is a universal
benevolence

COMPLAINT #7 "YOUR
MINISTRY IS NOT LIKE JESUS' MINISTRY. JESUS SAID, 'LET HE AMONG YOU WHO IS
WITHOUT SIN CAST THE FIRST STONE.' (JOHN 8:7)"

Above, you have cited John 8:7 as a proof text
in your argument that implies that exposing sin is somehow unchristlike.
However, you fail to properly interpret this Scripture and henceforth
have grossly misapplied it to our preaching methods. Jesus did not
rebuke the Jews for exposing this adulterous woman's sin, rather, he rebuked them for: [1]
their willingness to stone her to death contrary to the law, and [2]
Their unwillingness to repent when they were as guilty as she was in
breaking God's law. The law stated that the death penalty could not
be administered apart from two or three witnesses and that both of the guilty
parties were to suffer the consequences.

Deut. 17:6
At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of
death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to
death.

Deut. 22:22
If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall
both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so
shalt thou put away evil from Israel.

Leviticus 20:10
And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that
committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the
adulteress shall surely be put to death.

In John 8 we have one of the best known and most
misunderstood stories in the Bible. Ironically, In this narrative our
basic message is illustrated as well as validated: "Make Jesus your
Lord, and stop sinning. (John 8:11)" Jesus was not try to
communicate that sin will be overlooked, but rather, the truth expressed in...

Psalm 51:17
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O
God, thou wilt not despise.

Why did Jesus show mercy on this adulterous
woman and not the Jews who exposed her? Did he love them less? No.
The Jews refused to humble themselves and repent while the woman was
broken, repentant, and believing as she referred to Jesus as Lord (John
8:11). This woman did not try to defend or excuse her sinful
behavior as many do today when they are confronted. She knew
she was wrong and was willing to change or Jesus would never have forgiven her.
The scribes, in contrast, walked away, each convicted by their own consciences
which told them that they were wrong; but still they refused to repent and
believe. They refused to follow Jesus. So it is with most today
in America. The Word of God convicts their consciences, showing them their
sins. But instead of repenting most, sooner or later, walk away.
Some stay around asking questions to test us. Others will mock or heckle. Most
will offer excuses and justifications for their sin and yet erroneously
claim that they can love God while they live in rebellion (John
14:24; 1 John 2:4).2

Furthermore, the Pharisees in John 8
wanted to kill the woman caught in adultery. We have never literally thrown stones at anyone,
nor have we promoted the killing of sinners. In fact, by preaching the
gospel to the fornicators, drunkards, sodomites, etc. we are pointing them to
the only escape and remedy for divine retribution, the atonement of Jesus
Christ. Nevertheless,
by preaching the gospel and exalting the Lord Jesus Christ we
have indeed exposed sin - yet, no where in the Bible is this
forbidden.

COMPLAINT #8 "I
GUESS WHAT I DON'T UNDERSTAND IS HOW YOU INTEND FOR YOUR METHOD OF PREACHING
TO WORK?"

The validity of any ministry is not to be
judged by "success" or the lack thereof, but rather, by its
conformity to Scripture. In other words, is it Biblical? As
Christians, and especially as ministers of the gospel, we must not be pragmatic,
but obedient. Our first goal as gospel preachers is to render
obedience to God. Christ commanded that we "go into all the world
and preach the gospel to every creature." This is God's way, no
questions asked. God's ways and methods are far above our ways and
methods (Isa. 55:8-9), yet faith demands that we surrender to God's wisdom.
Jesus came, He preached, He ministered and yet He was murdered.
Obviously, His ministry at a glance, especially from the view of time,
seems to be unsuccessful. It is only in retrospect that we see God's
wisdom manifested in the person, life, and ministry of Jesus Christ.

The Bible refers to true preaching as foolishness
in the eyes of those who are lost.

1
Cor. 1:18
For the
preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which
are saved it is the power of God.

The Greek word translated "foolishness" in the above verse
literally means absurd or silly. I've always found
it to be true that those who are in darkness are the first to tell us,
"It's absurd for you to think that you'll ever win anyone to Christ
using these methods!" However, the Bible says that "...he
that winneth souls is wise (Prov. 11:30). Yet, notice what true
Biblical wisdom does...

Proverbs 1:20-23
Wisdom crieth (means shouts) without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:
21She crieth in the chief place of
concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words,
saying, 22How long, ye simple ones,
will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and
fools hate knowledge? 23Turn you at my
reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my
words unto you.

Hallelujah!
I choose to trust in God's eternal wisdom and to believe the Bible
which says...

Romans 3:4 God
forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar...

COMPLAINT #9 "WHERE
IS YOUR FRUIT?"

Open-air preaching is
primarily a sowing ministry, however, we have seen several repent.
Nevertheless, this question is meant to discredit our method simply due to the
fact that we do not have a mega-church to show for our efforts.

COMPLAINT #10 "YOU
PREACH ABOUT JUDGMENT AND HELL, WOULDN'T IT MAKE MORE SENSE TO TELL PEOPLE
ABOUT JESUS AND HIS LOVE?"

In this hour many false doctrines are
masked under the term "love." It is apparent to any serious student
of the Bible that the love of God is grossly misunderstood today. Many
speak of God's "love" but in essence they actually promote an
unbiblical and humanistic "tolerance." They offer God's promises of
forgiveness, restoration, and fellowship without clearly communicating the
Biblical conditions of repentance, faith, and obedience. God is not tolerant,
but loving. There is a vast difference between tolerance and love. In His
love, God sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross so the sinner could be set
free from his sins. Nevertheless, if sinners refuse God's love by the
rejection of the gospel of Jesus Christ then they must face God's wrath. If we
leave men with the impression that God will not judge them for their sins then
we do them a great spiritual disservice and misrepresent God's character as
revealed in Scripture.

Exodus 34:7

Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and
that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the
fathers upon the children...

Nahum 1:2-3
God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth; the Lord revengeth, and is furious;
the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for
his enemies.3The
Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the
wicked...

If you were to ask most Christians in
America to sum up the gospel in five words or less they would reply without
hesitation, "Jesus Loves You." No real Christian will deny the fact
of God's love expressed to mankind through the person of Jesus Christ.
However, Jesus Himself, nor the Apostles ever uttered these words as they
preached the gospel. A close examination of the N.T. will reveal that the TRUE
gospel message and the method in which it was delivered is much different than
our current "much improved and inoffensive version." Jesus was
indeed motivated by love but He only speaks of God's love for humanity in SIX
verses of the four gospels. In contrast, Jesus mentioned hell, judgment,
condemnation, and wrath in 163 verses in the same four gospels. The Book of
Acts [which records more public proclamation of the gospel than any other book
in the Bible with the exception of the gospels] NEVER mentions
the love of God. Not in one public sermon by either Paul, Peter, Philip, or
Stephen did they ever mention God's love. However, they mentioned the fear of
God six times and repentance several times. Let me ask you, are we wiser than
Jesus and the Apostles? Are our methods Scriptural? Whose gospel is out of
balance? May we learn that it is more important for us to be 'motivated' by
love than to speak of love. The Bible says in

1
John 3:18 My
little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and
in truth.

Likewise, many today boast of their
"love for God" and yet rarely manifest any clear Biblical fruit to
validate such a claim. Our love for God is not a warm-fuzzy-feeling-inside but
a COMMITMENT to accomplish His perfect will and keep His Word!
In this hour many who claim to love God are only interested in what God can do
for them. Tragically, they deceive themselves if they believe that this
constitutes a genuine love for God.

"The language of love and the language of seduction are basically the
same; The one who wants a woman for a wife and the one who wants her just for
the night both say, 'I love you'....but they mean totally different things.
One speaks of commitment the other of gratification." Richard Wurmbrand

Luke 6:46

And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do
not the things which I say?

1 John 5:3
For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his
commandments are not grievous.

COMPLAINT #11 "WHY NOT
CONSIDER DOING SOME ACTION TO SHOW JESUS' LOVE? FOR EXAMPLE, YOU COULD GIVE
OUT FLOWERS TO GIRLS WHO PASS BY INSTEAD OF ASSUMING THEY ARE
FORNICATORS?" (I know it's hard to believe, but yes, this was an actual question)

Do you really believe that giving flowers to someone
will reveal Christ's love? Did Jesus give women flowers? Why can't
you see that your opinions are based on something other than God's Word? We
cannot reveal Christ's love unless we do as Christ did (1 John 2:6).
Contrary to popular theology, we are not called to convince men that we love
them, we are simply called to love them. Unfortunately, true love
will rarely be recognized by the unregenerate. Jesus was God's perfect
expression of divine love, yet He was utterly rejected while rendering perfect
obedient. Sir, take heed to your spiritual philosophy. It appears
that you are implying that if men hate us we must be wrong. It
seems that you are saying that if we were truly obeying God we would be accepted
by men. The Bible teaches the exact opposite.

Matthew 10:22And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but
he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

John 15:19If ye were of the world, the world would love his own:
but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world,
therefore the world hateth you.

2 Tim. 3:12
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

1 John 3:13 Marvel
not, my brethren, if the world hate you.

Notice that the Bible reveals why Jesus was hated...

John 7:7The
world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the
works thereof are evil.

COMPLAINT #12 "FOR
THE MOST PART, YOU ARE ADDRESSING AN EDUCATED AUDIENCE, IF YOU ARE TO
CONVINCE THEM THAT THEY NEED TO TURN FROM THEIR SIN, YOU MUST SHOW THEM THAT
THERE IS SOMETHING BETTER."

Once again, you have made assumptions apart from the
wise counsel of God's Word. Let us consider what the Bible says
about the audience that we are confronting at LSU:

Job 28:28And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the
Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

Psalm 14:1 The fool hath said in his heart,
There is no God...

Proverbs 1:7 The fear
of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and
instruction.

Hence, our audience is anything but "educated" but rather
stiff-necked, proud, self-sufficient, and arrogant. Yes, they assume
that they know the truth but, in fact, are under the influence of the most
grievous lies, therefore, they are willingly deceived. The Bible
teaches that this is the common and universal experience of fallen mankind.
The remedy? In Christ and His gospel, the unchanging God has unveiled
His unchanging plan of redemption and His unchanging method for its
delivery. What man needed in A.D. 100 is what man needs in A.D. 2002 -
the clear, bold, and anointed declaration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Now, you suggested that we, "...show them that there is
something better." We would do well to understand that
the true preaching of the gospel rises far above the lowly and earthly
craft of salesmanship. The gospel preacher is not to appeal
to the inherit selfishness of mankind by presenting the precious atonement
of Christ as the spiritual-bargain-of-the-day offered at cut-rate prices. Such
a spirit does great violence to the holy and transcendent nature of the Lamb
of God. Notice God's spiritual posture and appeal to mankind:

Acts 17:30-31 And
the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every
where to repent: 31Because he hath
appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by
that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all
men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

As we see, men have no license to haggle and dicker with God's Spirit
and Word regarding their obligation to follow Christ, they must bow the
knee and cry, "Holy is the Lord!" How then, are men who are
blind to their NEED and adamant in their unbelief, brought
to a place of humble submission?

Allow me to use a simple illustration.
See that man floating face down, unconscious in the Mississippi
river? If he is not soon rescued and pulled from the water he will
perish. Unfortunately, he is unaware of his impending danger
because he is unconscious. Telling this man the virtues and benefits
of a life-preserver means absolutely nothing to him unless he understands the
danger of His situation. You may throw him a life preserver but to no
avail. Why? Because he is completely ignorant of his NEED
due to his state of mind. So it stands to reason, if this man is
to be saved he must be awakened. Once awakened, once he sees the
grave danger of his situation, then he will readily take the life-preserver as
a means to his salvation. Do you see the parallel? The sinner
must first be awakened to his danger of eternal hell-fire. He must see
the righteousness of God's law, the justice of divine retribution
against all sin, the inescapable doom of his sinfulness apart from Christ,
and then, and only then will he cry out for the life-preserver of the gospel.

Remember what Jesus said...

John 6:44No
man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I
will raise him up at the last day.

John 16:8And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin,
and of righteousness, and of judgment:

Now, the Spirit of God is not arbitrarily or haphazardly
influencing men's lives as some suppose.
When the Holy Ghost was sent on the day of Pentecost He came to inhabit the
Body of Christ, which is the Church. The Spirit of God's ministry is in
and through the Body of believers in the earth. Hence, if a man
is truly led of the Spirit of God in evangelism he will be in agreement with
the above description of the ministry of God's Spirit to lost humanity.
The Spirit of Christ, the Holy Ghost, lives and speaks through consecrated and
sanctified human vessels. Such men's preaching will reprove sin, promote righteousness, and warn of
judgment. Therefore, the Holy Ghost didn't come primarily to show men
something better, but to expose them for what they are. Yes, Christ is
better than sin, but in general, men would rather have sin because they
are deluded by the deceitfulness of sin...

John 3:19And this is the condemnation, that light is
come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their
deeds were evil.

Therefore, it is our duty, as gospel preachers, to be
led of God's Spirit and allow Him to awaken the sinner to his impending danger
and to make "sin exceedingly sinful" (Rom 7:13) so as to drive
the sinner to Jesus (Gal. 3:24).

COMPLAINT #13 "I'M SIMPLY
SUGGESTING THAT YOU SHOW THEM SOME OF CHRIST'S LOVE."

We reply that this is exactly what
w'are doing by
reproving sin. Sadly, you are implying that exposing sin
is unloving. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Reproof and
love are often linked throughout the Scripture.

Job 5:17
Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the
chastening of the Almighty:

Proverbs 3:12 For whom
the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

Proverbs 6:23 For
the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction
are the way of life:

Proverbs 15:10
Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: and he that hateth
reproof shall die.

John 3:20For
every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light,
lest his deeds should be reproved.

And finally, Jesus said...

Rev. 3:19As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten...

In light of these verses, how can you deny that reproving sin is a
manifestation of Christ's love?

When Jesus established the second love command in
Matthew 22:39 he was quoting
the Old Testament law. If taken in context, we can easily see that
reproving sin is inseparable from loving one's neighbor.

Leviticus 19:17-18
Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke
thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him. 18Thou
shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but
thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.

So, I defend our methods of evangelism
as not only Biblical, but irrefutably motivated by holy love and concern for
our fellow man.

COMPLAINT #14
"I UNDERSTAND YOUR POSITION OF LOVING PEOPLE BY SHOWING THEM THAT THEY
ARE ON THE WRONG PATH, HOWEVER, IS THIS THE ONLY PART OF LOVE? LOVE IS
CERTIANLY MORE THAN ONLY DENOUNCING SIN AND SHOWING MEN THAT THEY ARE IN
IT."

Indeed. However, in the context of public
proclamation of the gospel the message is paramount. Furthermore, the
message is often dictated by the condition of the "congregation's"
heart. As Christians, we are called to give men what they need not
what they want. For example, Jesus' message throughout the four
gospels to the Pharisees and scribes was, without exception, scathing.
Why? Because they were proud and unrepentant.

Luke 16:15
And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify
yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly
esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.

This is really the root condition of heart that defines
Phariseeism - those who profess to love God, yet, remain in, defend,
sympathize with, and excuse sin. Let us remember, if we want to know
what true love is then we must look toward Jesus, for He is the love of God
manifested to mankind. Jesus always was motivated by love, therefore,
his ministry to the Pharisees, as brutal as it was, was a perfect
manifestation of God's love. True, these isolated words/sermons/rebukes
to these religious men certainly doesn't fully frame Jesus' ministry on
earth. However, to the Pharisees, Jesus perfectly manifested God's
divine love in that he gave them what they needed. Not once in the
gospels is it recorded that Jesus fed, clothed, healed, hugged,
or otherwise comforted an unrepentant Pharisee. Not once.
Yet, who would be so bold as to accuse Christ of failing to love these men?
Likewise, the typical LSU crowd that gathers while we preach (the
ones who are vocal and garner most of the attention) generally profess
to love God, yet unashamedly declare their love for all manner of brazen
sin. They constantly justify themselves and their sinful actions.
Love demands that we rebuke such behavior. Love has no plan B for such a
situation. Love ALWAYS rebukes hypocrisy. When these
religious hypocrites refuse to repent and confess that sin is inconsistent
with Christianity love requires us to rebuke and reprove again and again
(Titus 1:13). This is love and this a perfect and accurate
demonstration, as modeled by Christ, of God's pure love toward such
people.

Allow me to use an illustration: Suppose you were
reading your Bible on the bus and a young man approached you with a somber
countenance and asked, "I saw you reading your Bible and it provoked me
to ask you a question that has troubled me for some time. Sir, if I am
not a Christian and I should die in my sins what will be my fate?"
Now what does love demand that you do? Why, you must frankly answer the
man's question, so you reply, "Unfortunately, sir, you will go to
Hell." The man is immediately disturbed at your answer and again
presses you to alter your comments, "How absurd and narrow-minded!
Do you really believe I will go to hell if I do not believe in Jesus?"
Again your answer is firm, "Sir, unless you are born-again you will not
go to heaven." This enrages the young man and he lifts up his voice
in threatening tones, "WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO ME IF I DIE WITHOUT
JESUS?" Without hesitation, you offer the same answer, "You
will go to hell." Now the entire bus is moved to passion and
several begin to ask all at once, "ARE YOU SAYING WE WILL GO TO HELL IF
WE ARE NOT CHRISTIANS?" There is no escape, love demands that you
repeat what you've already said, "Except you repent and believe on Jesus
you will all likewise perish." The bus arrives at your destination
and you quietly exit. As you walk down the sidewalk a young lady approaches you
with this startling accusation, "I'm a Christian and I overheard your
comments on the bus. I was appalled and offended. You are so unloving! All
you did is tell everyone they were going to hell! Why didn't you show
them the love of Jesus?"

My point? Though Jesus' ministry to the Pharisees
does not fully define Biblical love, it nevertheless can be seen as pure
and loving. In the above illustration the young man's answers to the
irate young man and angry crowd on the bus cannot be understood as
representing the full scope of Biblical love, nonetheless, it was the
appropriate display of God's love for the circumstance.
Likewise, though our evangelistic ministry is often volatile,
blistering, and stern it is indeed loving and, as representatives of
Christ, the ONLY response which we can rightly
offer to those who refuse to humble themselves.

James 4:6 ...God
resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

COMPLAINT #15 "I AM NOT
SAYING THAT HATING SIN IS WRONG. I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SEE IT DONE IN A
WAY THAT, AS THE SAYING GOES, 'HATES THE SIN, BUT LOVES THE
SINNER.' THIS IS NOT A DIRECT QUOTE FROM THE SCRIPTURE, BUT I
BELIEVE IT IS VERY BIBLICALLY BASED."

Well, not really. Allow me to quote the
well
respected Preacher/Author, E.M. Bounds-

"Deal with the sin and not
with the sinner is a maxim of popular acceptance, but like most popular
maxims when adopted by the pulpit it makes havoc of truth and righteousness.
The sin and the sinner are inseparable. Sin is not an abstract entity. It
has its being through the sinner. Sin is not an accountable thing. The
sinner is accountable for the sin. The only way to destroy the sin is
through the sinner. Our gospel is a personal gospel. 'Thou art the man' is
the epitome of its purpose. To separate and purge the person from his sins
is the chief aim of the gospel."

3

Psalm 5:5 The
foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.

COMPLAINT #16 "I
KNOW THAT THE BIBLE SAYS THAT THE GOSPEL WILL BE OFFENSIVE TO SOME, AND WILL
SOUND SILLY TO OTHERS. HOWEVER, THIS DOESN'T MEAN THAT YOU SHOULD TRY TO
DELIBERATELY MAKE IT OFFENSIVE."

Wrong. The Bible doesn't say
that the "preaching of the cross" will be offensive or silly
to "some" but to ALL who are unregenerate and hell bound.
We must remember, unless the lost are enlightened by the drawing power of the
Holy Ghost they will not come to Jesus. Why then, should we be surprised
when the true gospel message is met with opposition?

You are wrong to assume that we
are deliberately trying to make Christ offensive. Christ is already offensive
to the sinner (Rom 8:7). I assure you, our motive is to do the will of
God. We do not enjoy or otherwise glory in being hated. We
recognize that simply
because a man is hated does not irrefutably prove that he is endorsed of
God. On the other hand, we know that if a man is not hated this most assuredly
proves that he is not of God, because the Bible says...

Luke 6:26Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for
so did their fathers to the false prophets.

2 Tim. 3:12
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

COMPLAINT #17 "I THINK YOU ARE
TURNING PEOPLE OFF TO CHRISTIANITY."

COMPLAINT #18 "WE DON'T CARE TO
DISCUSS RELIGION WITH YOU BECAUSE IT OF NO USE, WE CAN NEVER WIN AN ARGUMENT
WITH YOU."

Proverbs 25:9 Debate thy cause with thy neighbour
himself; and discover not a secret to another...

Christians are not trying to "win"
arguments with others. Nor or they interested in out debating
anyone. Christians are after the truth. Christians are interested
in obtaining the mind of Christ. Christians desire to know the
truth. And they are willing to allow "iron to sharpen iron" to
discover it. Those who dogmatically hold to truth are often accused of
being "divisive." However, in actuality, the divisive folks
are those who refuse to come to God's Holy book and prove their doctrine
because they thereby reveal they are separated from Christ.

COMPLAINT #19 "WE WILL NO
LONGER DISCUSS THESE MATTERS WITH YOU AS IT IS SIMPLY TURNING INTO AN
ARGUMENT. JESUS WOULD NEVER ARGUE WITH ANYONE AS IT IS A SIN TO DEBATE."

Proverbs 25:9 Debate thy cause with thy neighbour himself; and discover not a secret to
another...

John 7:40-43 Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. [41] Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?
42Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?
43So there was a division among the people because of him.

Acts 17:2 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,

Acts 17:17 Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him.

COMPLAINT #20 "SATAN QUOTES THE
BIBLE TOO!"

This is generally a last ditch effort to cover
Biblical illiteracy. When they no longer

We
certainly desire for souls to be saved and are grieved that many are not.
However, we cannot change the gospel to accommodate the spiritual appetite of
this wayward generation. The Bible teaches that the last days will be like the
days of Lot and the days of Noah (Luke 17:26-30). A brief study
of the life and times of Lot and Noah reveal that they were men
who lived in a generation marked by sin, rebellion, and God's judgment. Very
few souls were delivered in their days (in Noah's case - eight souls, in Lot's
- three). The prophet Jeremiah offers us another Biblical example of a
man who was spiritual yet his ministry was utterly rejected by his generation.
Remember, he preached 70 years with no convert. Jesus, the most
anointed preacher ever to preach the gospel, was murdered for His message
(John 7:7)! Would we dare say that these ministries [along with many, many
other examples in the Bible] were unspiritual because they were rejected and
hated? I think not. Hence, to say that "souls being saved" is
a sure sign or indicator of spirituality is Biblically unwarranted. Men are
moral free agents, meaning they have the ability to resist God in all of His
beauty, power, holiness, and love. Therefore, men, by virtue of their free
will, may choose to utterly reject the most spiritual of testimonies.

It
is not our desire to excuse ourselves, we certainly want God to correct
anything among us that hinders souls from being saved. However, could it be
that people are just not interested in serving the real Biblical Jesus in this
hour? In conclusion, we suggest that new converts, or the lack thereof,
neither validate nor condemn the spirituality of an individual or church.
However, if you believe this, allow me to turn this question around to you,
"When is the last time you won someone to Jesus?" and, "How
many in the past five years?"

Incidentally,
if you really want to deal with numbers as a validation for ministry then
let's look at a realistic comparison. Woodville is only a town with a
total population of 2000 people. Wilkinson county and Amite Count combined
only have roughly 20,000 people. Hence, we only have a potential pool of 2000
people to draw from in Woodville and 20,000 people to draw from in our
community at large. We have a church attendance of approximately 30
(all who are faithful to services, committed to ministry, and faithfully give of
their time and finances). Therefore, we have approximately 1.5% of the total
population of Woodville and 0.15% of the population of Wilkinson/Amite
counties. If we proportionately applied this same rule to a church in a city
with the population of 1,000,000 (like New Orleans) their attendance would
have to be, all things being equal, 15,000 to garner 1.5% of the population
(remember, to be totally equal these 15,000 must be people who rarely, if
ever, miss a church service or prayer meeting and who faithfully tithe) or
1500 people to gain 0.15% of Orleans Parish. In a city of 4,000,000 a church
would have to have a congregation of 60,000 to do as well as we're doing in
Woodville or 6000 (0.15%) to do as well as we are in our surrounding counties.
A city of 500,000 a church needs 7500 people. So forth, and so on...In
perspective, our attendance is really not that bad.